World of Warcraft's "pre-expansion patch" goes live tomorrow

The patch sets the stage for the upcoming Legion expansion.

The new “pre-expansion patch” for World of Warcraft, which will get the game ready for the launch of Legion, will be out on July 19. Holy cow, that's tomorrow! Blizzard said the patch will incorporate “a wide variety of features and content... including system changes, quality-of-life improvements, and major in-game events,” some of it available immediately, and some you'll have to wait for.

The update will make “significant changes to classes and their specs,” which will take effect as soon as the pre-expansion patch goes live. It will also change the way players will switch specializations based on the content that's being played, and simplify the Transmogrification Collections system. And for players who pre-purchase, it will unlock the new Demon Hunter class, which will be playable (again, for those who pre-purchase) sometime in mid-August, no later than August 17.

And in case you'd forgotten, the patch will also put into place the new "Silence Penalty" that Blizzard hopes will cut down on (or, ideally, eliminate) abusive and inappropriate in-game chat. Not that it's ever appropriate to be a jerk to strangers on the internet, but if that's been your habit, now would be a good time to knock it off. The World of Warcraft: Legion expansion is slated to go live on August 30. Get the details at battle.net.

Andy covers the day-to-day happenings in the big, wide world of PC gaming—the stuff we call "news." In his off hours, he wishes he had time to play the 80-hour RPGs and immersive sims he used to love so much.